DOHA, Sept. 30 -- Olympic and world champion Liu Hong came back to the center stage of world race walk even stronger.
The 31-year-old, who holds both the 20km and 50km race walk world records, strode to her third 20km world title in early hours of Tuesday in challenging weather conditions here, with temperature at 32 degrees Celsius and 75% humidity.
This was Liu's first major race since she returned to competition from more than two years of maternity leave.
"I was quite anxious when I decided to return in January, so I was eager to compete. I competed in six races, including this world championships, in nine months, which has been quite a lot. I wanted to find my form and problems through races," Liu told Xinhua in an exclusive interview. "Now with the victory, I am very confident. I feel like I have picked up where I left off."
Liu gave birth to baby girl at the end of 2017 as she missed the London world championships to defend her 20km title. Two years of absence from competition did not weaken her. On the contrary, Liu said she has become stronger.
In the only 50km race in her career in March at Huangshan Grand Prix, Liu stunned the field to win in a world record time of 3:59:15, becoming the first Chinese race walker in history with two world records.
"Becoming a mom is a tough long way for a woman, with all the pregnancy, labor and nursing the baby. I went through a lot and I think all these experiences actually made me stronger," she said.
Liu admitted that after 2016 Rio Olympic victory, she began to consider retirement but eventually changed her mind.
"At last I decided to come back. The reason is because I still have passion for the sport. In addition, I really think I should do something to promote race walk in China," she said.
"I won the Olympic title but race walk is still such a small event in China that many people don't know much about it. Everytime I think about it, I feel at lost," she added.
"So I want to stay on to promote it, to let more people know about race walk," Liu said.
Liu's promotion plan includes a title defence in next year's Tokyo Olympic Games but she is aware of the difficulty.
"China will face strong challenges from other race walk powers in Tokyo. I hope my return can help my country keep the title at home," Liu said.